Article feeding mechanism



July 15, 1941. J. R. KNlGHTs ARTICLE FEEDING MECHANISM Filed sept. 20. 19:57

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Patented July 15, 1941 ARTICLEiFEEDINGll/IECHAN'ISM Joim Russeunnights, .Claimant Enseigner ,D to- Sullivan- Machinery Company a corporation.

ofMavssachusetts 'I'hisinvention .relates vto article feeding -mechf anism, and Ymore particularly to improvements in afeeding mechanism for feeding rock drill 'bits or,similar articles into a heatingfurnace. `An object of this invention is to provide an improved article feeding mechanism. Another Objectis toV provide an improved feeding mech- .anismgfor feeding rock drillbits or similar articles into a heating furnace. A still further object is toY VD l'ovide an improved automatic feeding mechanism for a heating furnace. These and other objects vrand advantages of the invention will, however, Ahereinafter more fully appear.

In the accompanying drawing there isshown .for purposes of illustration one form which. the 1'5 invention may assume in practice.

vIn this drawing: Fig. 1 is aside elevational view of a heating furnace and quenching apparatusin which an associated therewith is the .improved feeding i meehansm Vgenerally designated 3. The heating `furnace I con'lprises a casing -4 substantially retiliangularin shape, suitably supported as by legs ,5 and having a heating chamber l6.V A combustible mixture is supplied to the` heating chamber 6 of the, furnace by a conventional burner 1. Extending longitudinally through the heating chamber of the furnace is aguideway 8 for guiding the articles to be heated through `the heating chamber, this`A guideway extending. outwardly through an opening 9 in an end wall of the furnace casing and joined to an inclined chute I0 on which the articlesto be heated are placed prior -to the feeding thereof within the heating furnace. The opposite end of the guideway 8 has a downwardly inclined portion Il extending outwardly through an opening I2 in the opposite end wall of the furnace casing, and the lower end of this inclined guide portion preferably terminatesiin a substantially vertical. guide porof *the g'uidewayi- 8 are 'supported by a #frame Vto #the radjacent V'end' -of the Now referring f to the quenching A"apparatus 'i 2,

itwill be noted that lsupportedl on--a platform LIii ,secu-red'to -the-Yfurnacelegs is'aitank 'I'6 adapted Yto containv a quenching -liquidfpre'ferably ywater. 'This tank` issuitably vsupportedon legs "I8 mounted onithe platform I-5 atone 'endsof-A the furnace,

'inv the 'manner showninfFigyl: AMounted lat vthe top-of1th`e Vquenching tank"| 6 isV a -rotary carrier, generally designated H19, jo'vurnale'd4 in -bearing sleeves support-ed Jby--a tubular --member 2'2 -sevcured tothe-tank? The mechanismfor 'rotatingk vthe carrier l1I 9 comprises a motor:i39;"preferablysupported by a Ahorizontal platform 40 `secured v'to 'the itank supporting, legs. *The vmotorfis herein -arrangedlbeneaththe ta'nkyand has its'power'shaft 4I jour- 'nal-ed-in 'bearings supported within a-gear' housing 112,1'likewisesupported by fthe platform v40; The

shaft' AIl I 4drives 'through conventionall worm i gearing `a ,crank- Apin* '46 'connected V"by a connecting rod `41 to..a crank :48securedto an oscillatory frame i891y jTh'e oscillatoryrmotion'of 'the frame "49 -is -transmitted ithrough Aa conventional intermittent 4gripf'device vto the .rotary carrier I9 "of the quenching apparatus. .30

vThe .improved 'mechanism '3 for ,feeding the articles `to.,be heated finto the heating furnace comprises a crank 'mechanism driven'by'the oscillatory frame l'Ii) -and connected "by .a'connecting rod or link 158, extending longitudinallyjbeneath 'the furnace, tothe lower end ofajlever 59.'. The

lever `59 is. pivotallymountedat `(mon. a horizontal axis ona bracket B'I carriedby the frame structure I4. The upper extremity v.of the lever 40 ,159 'is pivotally connected 'byan adjustable turnb-uckle link'BZ to a memberf63 depending from the bottom of a vkslide block 64: This 'slide block is guided for rectilinear movement `in a guideway -65'tformedonjV the A'frame `structure I'4,'1andhas I `supported lon the upper face thereof a cam member 56 having OppQSitelyfdis'posed-'cam surfaces lmember 64 :is-a plunger-oripusher-bar10;' This plunger or pusher bar is .guided-by-a guide pin lI vsecured'toV the yframewstructure I4 yand has 'a plane bottom surface l2- 'andfa V47relatively Vinis moved back-fand=forth with-*the slidewblock to be heated on the guideway 8, as will later be explained. Engageable with the cam surfaces 6l and 68 of the cam 6B are adjustable abutment members 'I4 and 15 secured to latch members I6 and 'I'I respectively, these latch members being pivotally mounted on horizontal axes at 'I8 on a depending bracket 'I9 secured to the chute I9. The cam 66 is preferably formed separate from thel block 64 and'is adjustable rectilinearly with respect thereto by means of an adjusting screw 80 having an operating handle 8|, so that the position of the cam may be adjusted'with respect to the sliding block 64 as desired. From the foregoing,rit will be evident that the feeding means 3 is so coordinated-with the driving mechanism for the quenching apparatus that the rotary carrier I9 of the quenching apparatus is always in a position to receive a heated article as it is discharged from the furnace.

The articles to be heat treated mayassume various forms, but are herein preferably rock drill vbits of the so-called detachable type, designated by the reference character 82,v and may be similar to that disclosed in a patent to one Paul H. Nast, No. 2,168,102, granted August 1', 1939.

. 'VIhegeneral mod e of operation of the improved automatic feeding mechanism is as follows: When the burner of the furnace is adjusted to obtain the proper ccmbustion and heating temperature within the heating chamber 6, the operator places a series of juxtaposed, end abutting articles to be `heated on the inclined chute I0, with the lowermost article held against downward movement within the chute by the latch II, in the manner shown in Fig. 2. The motor 39 is then started to eiect rotation of the carrier i9 of the quenching apparatus and to drive, through .the connecting rod 58 and lever 59, the slide block 64 -back and forth along its guideway 65 on the frame structure I4, thereby causing the latch 'I1 to swing downwardly into its released position to permit downward gravitational movement of the articles to be heated on the chute I0, into engagement with the front latch 16. Upon continued movement of the cam 66, the latch I6 swings downwardly into its released position shown incFig. 2, thereby permitting the lowermost article to slide downwardly within the chute Ill onto the guideway 8. At the same time, the' rear latch 'I'I has moved Vup to catch beneath the lowermost article on the chute to retain the same in position thereon.

fUpon continued movement of the slide block 64,

chamber of the furnace. When a series of ar-.

ticles have been fedalong the guideway'8 within theheating chamber of the furnace and the ar- .ticles areproperly heated, the outermost article `slides downwardly along .the inclined portion II of the guideway B and along the vertical portion 165 I3 onto the carrier I9 of the quenching apparatus. As an articlecto be heated is fed within the heating furnace, a heated article is discharged frorn the furnace onto the carrier of the .quenching apparatus; and the driving mechanism for the carrier is so coordinated with the driving mechanism,` for the feeding means that l the carrier is always in` a position underlying the discharge portion I3 of the guideway to' receive the heated article as itdrops from the guideway.

When the slide block 64 moves rearwardly from the position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in Fig. 2, the pusher bar I0 is moved rearwardly, and as the inclined surface 'I3 is guided over the guide pin 1I, the pusher bar moves into the position shown in Fig. 2, so that when the latch 14 is released, an article to be heated may slide by gravity downwardly along the chute I0 onto vthe guideway 8; the pusher bar having moved out of the path of movement of the article at that time. When the slide block 64 is moved forwardly from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3, the pusher bar 'I0 moves upwardly into its operative position so that it may engage the article to be heated to effect feed thereof along the guideway 8 into the heating chamber of the furnace. By provision of the two latches 'I6 and TI, the lowermost article onr the chute I0 is relieved of the weight of the articles above the same on the chute, so that when the latch I6 is released, the lowermost article may slide freely downwardly along the chute by gravity, while the other articles on the chute are held in position thereon rby the latch TI. As the heated articles are discharged from the furnace onto the carrier and as the carrier rotates, the same is first submerged into the water in the quenching tank so that the portions to be quenched are lowered Vwithin the water, and upon continued rotary motion of the carrier, the latter is elevated to raise the quenched articles from the water in the tank. Upon further continued rotary motion of the carrier, the articles thereon are discharged therefrom.

`As a result of thisy invention, it will be noted that an improved feeding mechanism is provided whereby the articles to be heated are automatically lfed into the heating' chamber of the furnace, and the heated articles are caused to be discharged from the furnace onto the carrier of the quenching apparatus. It will further be noted that by the provision of the improved article-feeding mechanism the articles to be heated are uniformly fed within the heating furnace and the heated articles are automatically discharged from the furnace. It will further be evident that by the provision of the improved latch mechanism movement of the articles into feeding position is controlled in an extremely effective manner. Other uses and advantages of theinvention will be clearly apparent to those skilled `in the art.

While there is in this application specifically described one form which the invention may assume in practice, it will be understood that this form of the same is shown for purposes of villustration and that the invention may be modified vand embodied in various other forms without departing'from its spirit or the scope of the f appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by VLetters Patent is:

1. An article-feeding mechanism comprising,

lin combination, a feeding clement having an article-engaging portion movable laterally with frespect to the direction of feed into and out of operative article-feeding position, said articledriving means for said feeding element for moving the latter to effect feed when said element is in its operative feeding position, and means for .controlling Y the movement of the articles vinto feeding relation with respect to said feeding element and embodying means for permitting movement of an article into feeding position when said feeding element is in its laterally located inoperative position and for preventing movement of other articles towards feeding position when said feeding element is in operative feeding position in alinement with the direction offeed.

2. An article-feeding mechanism comprising, in combination, a feeding element having an article-engaging portion movable laterally with respect to the direction of feed into and out of operative article-feeding position, said articleengaging portion of said feeding element being out of alinement with the direction of feed of the articles to be fed When in its inoperative position, driving means for said feeding element for moving the latter to eect feed when said element is in its operative feeding position, and means for controlling the movement of the articles into feeding relation with respect to said feeding element, said movement controlling means embodying an article-receiving chute, means for releasing the lowermost article in said chute for movement by gravity into a position to be engaged by said feeding element, said articlereleasing means being effective when said articleengaging portion of said feeding element is in its laterally located inoperative position, and means for preventing movement of the articles remaining in said chute towards feeding position when said feeding element is in operative feeding position in alinement with the direction of feed.

3. An article feeding mechanism comprising, in combination, a chute along which the articles move tov/ard feeding position, a reciprocable driving member, a pivoted pusher bar actuated by said driving member for engaging an article as the latter is discharged from said chute and for feeding the article, and means for effecting swinging of said pusher bar into and out of its article-engaging position as said driving member is reciprocated, said pusher bar swinging means being actuated by said driving member.

4. An article feeding mechanism comprising, in combination, a chute along which the articles move toward feeding position, a reciprocable driving member, a pivoted pusher bar actuated by said driving member for engaging an article as the latter is discharged from said chute and for feeding the article, means for effecting swinging of said pusher bar into and out of its article-engaging position as said driving member is reciprocated, and a pair of relatively movable latches actuated by said driving member for controlling the movement of the articles along said chute, one of said latches being movable into a position to release the lowermost article in said chute for engagement by said pusher bar while said other latch concurrently holds the remaining articles in the chute against movement. Y

5. An article feeding mechanism comprising, in combination, means for feeding the articles and associated means for controlling the movement of the articles into feeding relation with respect to said feeding means comprising an inclined chute along which the artcles are adapted to be moved by gravity and a latch mechanism for controlling movement of said articles along said chute comprising a pair of relatively movable latches, and a reciprocable cam member having spaced cam surfaces for swinging said latches about their pivots, said cam surfaces being so arranged that one latch is released While the other is concurrently held in its operative article-engaging position.V

6.,.An article-feeding mechanism comprising, in combination, a horizontally movable feeding element movable in a vertical direction into and out of operative article-feeding position, driving means for said feeding element for horizontally moving .the latter to eiect feed when said element is in its operative feeding position, and means for controlling the movement of the articles into feeding relation with respect to said feeding element and embodying means for permitting movement of an article into feeding position when said feeding element is moved out of operative feeding position and for preventing movement of other articles to be fed towards feeding position when said feeding element is in operative feeding position.

'7. An article-feeding mechanism comprising, in combination, a horizontally movable feeding element movable in a vertical direction into and out of operative article-feeding position, driving means for said feeding element for horizontally moving the latter to effect feed when saidelement Vis in its operative feeding position, and means for controlling the movement of the articles into feeding relation with respect to said feeding element, said movement controlling means embodying an article-receiving chute, means for releasing the lowermost article in said chute for movement by gravity into a position to be engaged by said feeding element, said n article-releasing means being effective when said feeding element is moved out of its operative feeding position, and means preventing movement of the articles remaining in said chute towards feeding position when said feeding element is in operative feeding position.

JOHN RUSSELL KNIGHIS.

I CERTIFlGATE oF CORRECTION. patent No. 2,2h9,529. July 15, 19m

JOHN RUSSELL yKNIGHTS..

Ii: is. hereby certified that errorV appears in the'p'rinted Specification ofthe above numbered `patent' requiring correction as follows: Page 2, second column, line 28, for the word "into" read --wthn--g and line 50., for l'within" read --into; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case 1n the Patent office.

signed and sealed-this 9th day of Decanbe'r, A. D. 19m.

Henry Van Arsdale, (Seal) Acting Commis sioner of Patents. 

